Bloody Roar II: Passage Into The Previous Years
by Tiger5913
Summary: The sequel to the BRI journal entries even with the ZLF troubles behind them, Uriko and Kenji still have hurdles to overcome, such as everyday problems in their high school. [Kenji x Uriko]
1.

5/3/01

5/3/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Uriko, etc. all belong to Hudson Soft.

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially Xion, PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, Vguyver, Flyby, StarryPeach, Xavier, and Niteflite.

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Bloody Roar II: Passage Into The Previous Years Series

Next installment following Bloody Roar I: The Destruction Of Impeccability Series

Bloody Roar II: Partnered By Purgatory

By Tiger5913

A number of years later…

POV - Kenji

11:48AM

June 1st, 2015

Dear Journal

That sounds too weird. I know that I don't have to endure this… journal thing for very long though, since this is only a last-month-of-school type assignment. My English teacher promised the class that she wouldn't thoroughly read our journals when we turn them in. She says that after she vaguely checks them, she'll hand us our journals back and hope that we'll continue writing "of your own free will". I suppose that she is hoping very excessively because this journal is thick, and full of blank pages. Geez. Not exactly subtle.

I feel rather stupid doing this since I already know these things about myself, but… My name is Kenji Ohgami. I'm fourteen years old and in ninth grade. Yes, a little freshman, one of the puny underclassmen. If I were ever assigned an autobiography in this English class, it would be pretty short and empty. I don't know much about my past. Almost nothing, actually, before nine years old. And even still, things are fuzzy. The bell just rang so I guess I'll explain later.

POV - Uriko

2:20PM

June 1st, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

Hi! I just got this journal assignment in English last period; I'm in Biology now, the last hour of the school day, hurray! It seems kinda silly that we got assigned something like this so late in the year, but oh well, I guess the teachers just really wanna motivate us then, heehee.

Well, onto the intro! I know who I am of course, but Ms. Arenson wouldn't unless I put my name down somewhere. I'm Uriko Nonomura (no one spells my last name right on the first try, argh) and I'm a fourteen year old teenage girl! I go to La Kenya High and is a ninth-grader right now, but I'll be a sophomore in a couple of weeks when school lets out!

Ooh, my science teacher Ms. Gerna just told us about this new project that us students are going to do… She's assigning us partners too; boy I hope that I'll get my best friend Erika! Oh drat, the pairs are all gonna be boy-girl… and Erika just got stuck with Ryan! Man, poor girl has gotta put up with Mr. I-can't-be-serious-for-more-than-negative-three-seconds. Sheesh, I just saw him pull out a chair for Erika (I know that sounds nice but,) that had a whoopy cushion on it! Honestly, how immature can you get?

Whoa… Ms. Gerna just called my name and my partner… Kenji Ohgami!! We haven't really crossed paths since last week when I asked him for a ride home… Oh yeah, oops, I haven't told about him yet. I'll continue later though; I gotta go talk with him now, bye!

POV - Kenji

4:27PM

June 1st, 2015

Of all the times that my past to be brought up, today was chosen. Why? Why do these things happen when I least expect it, thrown into my face like a nasty surprise disguised in shadows… Couldn't I have at least gotten a sign or a warning beforehand?

All right, for that ridiculous final project in science, the phobia topic, my partner turned out to be Uriko Nonomura. I wasn't expecting that either. I have mixed about her; I remember the first time we conversed after the night that we had fought in the alley. That was months ago… but it's very vivid in my memory. Rather surprising too, since I seem to not be able to remember much…

She had asked me for a ride home after school let out a few days after we'd fought, and I kind of stammered my way through that. I suppose I was shy or something of the sort… Basically I think that if I don't act coolly toward her, I'll stutter or do something equally stupid like that.

She was enthusiastic from the start, hyper and full of energy. Smiling a lot also; it's so contagious that it might be… cute. I smiled once before, that day I gave her ride to her house from school. I've remained nonchalant since then. I'm not sure how Uriko will be able to cope with me on this project, and probably vice versa… 

My attitude makes me wonder, was I always like this, cold, solemn, even in my earlier childhood years? …I wish I knew more about my past. I know almost nothing. I feel pathetic. No, I am pathetic.

My recent past however, the one that I detest… was brought back to recognition this afternoon. I had left school quite abruptly, after brushing Uriko off pretty coldly. She came over to my desk to ask what my phobia was, so that she could start researching on it, and I just wrote a stupid thing on a half sheet of paper and left her in class with it. Just like that. Without an explanation. Rude, I know… So as I was biking away from campus, I guess my conscience realized that too because I found myself changing directions to go to my partner's house and apologize.

Second surprise of the day and not a pleasant one in the least - I was ambushed. The perpetrator was a guy dressed in black, out of nowhere he appeared from behind a car and struck me over the head. I got knocked off my bike from that and fell to the street. The guy started demanding things and yelling menacingly at me. It was just a bunch of garbage about going to "where you belong, with Master Busuzima".

About a couple of seconds after I flat-out refused, he started stalking toward me with his meaty hand in a fist. The next thing I knew, I heard a battle cry and watched the creep sailing over my head and landing behind me with a thud. Pink and yellow caught my eyes as well when another figure followed that mindless follower of Busuzima's. My rescuer spoke and her voice was familiar.

It was Uriko. I could tell even though I was only looking at her back.

POV - Uriko

10:10AM

June 2nd, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

Hey! I'm in Silent Sustained Reading Hour right now but I forgot to bring a book today so I decided to write instead of sitting and staring blankly at the wall like some people… (Ryan.)

Well you'll never guess what happened yesterday! OK, I know this might be mean, but when I went over to talk to Kenji, he was kind of being a jerk… My science teacher Ms. Gerna told us to get with our partners and find out their phobia so we can start researching soon. I told him what my phobia is, losing my family, and I think he kinda thought it was cliquey though, sigh… He's gotta open up more, I swear!

So anyway, it took me a few minutes to get him to tell me what his phobia was. I just didn't expect it be to Kenji writing it on a half piece of paper and just throwing it on the table and leaving me behind with it. His phobia turned out to be being captured and brainwashed by Busuzima again. So I guess that makes my topic brainwashing and/or kidnapping? I'll ask this afternoon to make sure…

Hey, more news about yesterday: I helped him out in something! Not that he probably would care though… but I'm glad to have helped him. Well, I was walking home yesterday after school, and I was almost to my house when I heard some yelling around the corner. I sneaked over there and peeked my head around to see what was going on, because it didn't sound like anything good.

You'll never guess what I saw - this jerk in black was threatening someone that was sitting on the ground! He started walking toward the person and the thought of him hurting that person just got me really mad. I threw down my backpack and I didn't waste anymore time, just started running at that mean weirdo. He never saw it coming; I jumped into the air and nailed him in the back with both of my feet.

The guy went flying and I landed a couple yards behind him. He got up and gave me this resentful look, like I had done something wrong, then turned and bolted away. I let out a sigh, more of relief than victory pride and that's when someone behind me spoke up.

The voice was masculine, familiar, and had a bitter tone as he said, "I could've taken care of him myself…"

I'd immediately turned around and was shocked at who I saw on the ground: Kenji! Skillful fighter, killer techs like that Smoke bomb move, agility that I can compare against, really cute stealthy ninja Kenji! I won't even go into how he's like in beast form… his claws hurt like knives…

I guess after seeing him being the victim, I shouldn't have expected any signs of gratitude or anything like that. I really didn't, but I also didn't expect him to be such a smart aleck though… The first thing I saw when Kenji stood back up was these two really wicked-looking cuts on his forehead. By instinct, I reached foreword to touch them, I'm not sure why though… and he immediately brushed past me as soon I had barely touched one of them.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"…" He didn't exactly offer me a constructive answer…

"Aren't you gonna say something?"

"Something." Argh, he can be so hard to work with sometimes.

Well, even with the way he was acting, I couldn't let Kenji go off with those nasty cuts on his forehead, open, vulnerable, and bleeding. So I dug a handkerchief of mine out of my backpack and folded it up into a rectangular strip, then wrapped it around his forehead, covering the wound.

After that I smiled at him and started walking toward home again, but before taking more than a couple of steps, Kenji spoke up and asked if I wanted a ride. That's so strange; I thought the way he acted toward me was because he didn't like me. Well, maybe he doesn't and just offered me a ride out of obligation or something… I hate obligation though.

I got over my surprise and accepted it, of course. Ever since that one night Kenji and I fought in an alley, back when I was running around to save Mother, I've been wanting to befriend him. Probably easier said than done, since he doesn't seem like he wants to be friends with me. And… I'll admit something. I think that I kind of like him, hehe… But of course, I can't ever tell him that. The thought of how Kenji could respond makes me feel uneasy. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see how things turn out…

POV - Kenji

3:07PM

June 2nd, 2015

Ha, Yugo thought that I'd joined a gang or something when he came home and saw the handkerchief around my head. I guess he thought it was a bandana at first. Anyway, when he asked me what had happened, I just told him that I had fell down during physical education class and cut myself that way. He dismissed it after that, and didn't even ask me about the handkerchief. Speaking of, I wasn't sure how to wash it but I didn't want to ask Yugo so I just soaked it in the bathroom sink. What a pity, a white handkerchief ruined by the stains of blood…

Funny I should mention that… I'll never really be able to know or remember how many peoples' blood has stained my own sinful hands… …No, I can't think about that now. I promised my brother and that other man Alan Gado that I would stop letting suicidal thoughts submerge in my mind, after what I tried to do not so long ago… They both said that it would be a waste to end my life so early, at only age fourteen when I would supposedly "still have so much to experience later on". I'll try not to let my guilt get the best of me, but I really can't promise anything for certain.

School let out a little while ago, and in science class, Uriko didn't ask for her handkerchief back. Maybe she forgot about it. Well, if she had asked, I wouldn't be able to return it to her today because it's still sitting in the bathroom sink at home. Yugo and I had to take turns brushing our teeth and washing our faces in the kitchen this morning.

I've been researching on stories about people who have had their families torn away from them, in some cases, for the stupidest reasons. But how they felt when it was happened was pain far worse than receiving physical injuries. The people also felt fear. Fear that it would happen to their friends, or others that are close to them, that their friends would be taken away somehow too. And if some do get their families back, the fear never leaves because it can happen again, when they least expect it.

I read what I had so far of my report to Uriko today while we were in Biology, and when I finished, she gave me a smile and complimented on it but she looked uneasy. …I wonder if it's because she feels the way the people do in the other situations. Assured but still scared. Relieved, but angry. I can sympathize; I'd feel the same way if some creep like Shenlong came by and nabbed my brother. I don't know all the details about Uriko's little escapade, but I did hear bits and pieces while Alice was talking about it with Yugo a couple days ago.

I won't go into detail, but it seems like Uriko went through a lot during the period when her mother was kidnapped, and she did things mostly independently. She did have help, but the majority of it she took care of by herself. I rather wish that I could have done that, be in a situation where I'm needed instead of requiring help from others. I'm not a kid, and I need to prove that to myself and to the people around me that I can take care of things.

…I guess like the way Uriko proved herself. I want to do a version of what she did…

POV - Uriko

5:47PM

June 3rd, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

Hey! You'll never guess what I did today; I gave myself an additional project! More work, ahhh!! Hehe, this new project was voluntary though. Oh yeah, I haven't even told about it yet, oops! Well, I'm not sure if this is surprising or not but the project has something to do with Kenji! …Actually, it revolves around him! I couldn't help it though, honestly he is so stubborn sometimes, I think even more stubborn than I am, and that's saying a lot!

OK, today, Kenji had called in the morning - we exchanged phone numbers yesterday - and asked if he could come over so we could work on our project together and read the reports at the end of the session. I said it was fine with me, although… when Kenji read me his report yesterday, I was really surprised because it was almost like he was describing how I felt during that time Mother was kidnapped. So that was kinda frightening too… But he doesn't know anything, I don't think. At least, not everything because I guess Alice probably told Yugo a thing or two since she moved in with him today.

"I'll come by in the afternoon," Kenji said to me when we were on the phone. "I need to get out of the house before Yugo gets me to move more boxes around."

I laughed. "Well, I'll say this on my sister's behalf, Kenji: sorry."

"…It's no problem," he replied, sounding a little relaxed and casual - for Kenji, anyway. "I was only kidding, Uriko."

Isn't that something - him kidding around! I guess underneath that serious attitude and furtive shell of his, there's a sense of humor in there!

Well, back to the project… He did come over to my house this afternoon, and in short, I found out that he doesn't like certain emotions such as love! I can't believe it; I never knew Kenji was that nonchalant! So you know what I did? I told him that I would get him to be interested in someone. Needless to say, Kenji didn't show much enthusiasm in my proposal but at least he agreed to let me do it. I hope he'll at least cooperate, sigh…

I'll never tell him this, but I kind of wish that I could be one of his candidates, heh… I did admit earlier that I liked him after all… but I think that after bugging him so much he's probably getting kinda sick of me. I hope that he'll still want to be my friend after all this though…

POV - Kenji

9:08PM

June 3rd, 2015

What is with everyone and love?? I don't want to be a part of it at all; I'd rather stay in my own little quiet, safe world where I won't have to worry about heartbreak and anticipate all that other garbage. Whoever knew that when I opened my mouth about that song of Uriko's this afternoon that I'd find myself in a new dilemma. I can't say that I'm mad at Uriko though - more curious than angry.

All right, get this: she says that she can make me feel love. Can you believe that? Me, feel love. Cold, shy, nonchalant Kenji. I guess all I can say to her inwardly is "Good luck". But… another thing I'm curious about is, can she be my candidate? I mean… well, if I ever told her that, I'm sure she would laugh in my face. But, it's just that, she's the girl that I'd feel most comfortable being paired with for that additional "project" of hers…

Hm, I wonder how Uriko would feel about it if she knew…

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To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Here it is, Bloody Roar II journal entries! I hadn't originally planned to have entries in Uriko's point of view, but hey, I figured why not, as long as I can find an excuse, like her and Kenji being assigned it in English class, hehe. =P This story goes up to my songfic Bloody Roar II: When You Love, just to clear up any confusion. The next installment will be up sometime next week; readers, hope you enjoyed this and please leave a review/feedback if you have the time!


	2. Giving Into Persistence

5/16/01

5/16/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Uriko, etc. all belong to Hudson Soft.

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially Xion, PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, StarryPeach, Xavier, and Niteflite.

****

Bloody Roar II: Passage Into The Previous Years Series

Next installment following Bloody Roar I: The Destruction Of Impeccability Series

Bloody Roar II: Giving Into Persistence

By Tiger5913

POV - Uriko

5:14PM

June 5th, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

OK, I managed to drag Kenji over to the Teen Zone earlier this afternoon, this place that's a popular hangout for our fellow high school peers! If would've been a better-atoned triumph if he hadn't seemed so bored and looked so disapproved of being there! Of course, remembering my project, I immediately started asking if he liked any of the girls in our school. Being stubborn as he is, Kenji said no, like I had expected and was ready for.

After he sent me home later, I went into action. I made a list of the top three girls - I know there's gotta be more though - that I know who like him; I'll put a copy of it in here:

Jessica Newton - 14, good friend, fellow 9th grader, black hair, brown eyes, 5'1", cheery, bubbly, unattached, gymnast

Mary Starr - 15, English class acquaintance, 9th grader, brunette, blue eyes, 5'5", snobby, high-classed, just broke up recently, track runner

Wendy Kesler - 14, Biology class acquaintance, 9th grader, red hair, green eyes, 5'3", popular, attractive (according to some guys), 9th grade representative, single

Jessica's one of my really good friends, not best like Erika though, and she told me that she had her eye on Kenji since this one day he stopped these people who were hassling her. She's too shy to ask him out, but when I told her that I got Kenji for my partner in the phobia project, Jessica kept saying how lucky I was. I know she'd love to go on a date with him.

Mary's not my cup of tea, oi… She's one of those girls who go through guys like tissues. It's always someone new every week, and a chase if what she loves the most. I think she wants to make Kenji her newest catch because she's been giving him these flirtatious little looks lately. Of course, he doesn't respond; just kinda snorts and continues on his business. He's smart to do that, hehe.

Wendy… she made herself my rival at the beginning of the school year, for some weird reason. She's one of the most popular ninth graders, so I don't know why she's bothering with me. I heard from Erika that Wendy dislikes me because she's jealous that "lots of guys" at school like me and think I'm cute. I think that's a ridiculous reason; sure I've been asked out by a couple guys before and I was one of the few freshmen that went to the senior prom this year, but that's no reason to be jealous. Those guys usually just end up being regular friends of mine anyway, or others that are jerks I tell them to step off and leave me alone.

OK, I think the best choice out of those three is Jessica. And I think I'll get started on the setting-up part right now…

POV - Kenji

10:47PM

June 6th, 2015

I never thought that I would ever say this: I just came home from a date. Just imagine that - me, going on a date. I don't know whether I should laugh or yell at Uriko. Yes, she's the one who convinced me to go out with a good friend of hers; this girl named Jessica… Houton, I think?

Well, Uriko had called me before school this morning, and told me that she had a date setting up me with one of her friends, and she'd prefer my cooperation. I was groaning inwardly but I did agree because I knew she would badger me otherwise. So at 6 o'clock this evening, I met that girl Jessica at the Teen Zone.

All right, to be blunt, that date wasn't very, how you say, thrilling. I mean, nothing against Jessica, but she is too shy and drawn in for my tastes. I had to scrunch up little tidbits of conversations that pretty much felt one-sided. I think I would be better off with a wall or something, because a wall can't turn away from when I'm trying to force eye contact.

As for looks, Jessica can be considered cute, I suppose, but I really don't think that she's my type. We just didn't click because she's just too quiet, and I don't think I really even know the color of her eyes since she avoided my gaze the whole two hours of our date. Her hair is nice, but I can't help thinking how much more I like Uriko's, auburn brown, almost always tied in a braid, and hangs down to her waist.

The minute I got home, I immediately picked up the phone, called Uriko, and told her my side of the date. She said that Jessica had called just a few seconds before and told her she had a great time, but thought that I was too foreword. I couldn't believe that; I had almost hung up after hearing Jessica's review, but Uriko assured me that I was not like that, and she said that she knew how Jessica could be with guys.

But after that, Uriko barreled on ahead and told me she was thinking up who my next candidate could be. I just hope that all this will blow over soon and I can find someone that'll satisfy both of us…

POV - Uriko

4:03PM

June 7th, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

I knew I'd be kicking myself for this later, but I set Kenji up with a date with… Wendy; I swear, when I told him that in Biology class he turned as pale as milk!! I had Erika play messenger girl and go ask Wendy if she wanted to go on a date with Kenji. Stupid question, Wendy almost pounced on Kenji the minute he walked into the classroom, bugging him about where he was going to take her, what she should wear, and blah blah blah.

After he somehow peeled her off of him, Kenji gave me this look as if to say, "What on Earth did you get me into this time??" So I went over to him, put on my cutest smile, and said that he was going out with Wendy after school, and to meet her at the smoothie parlor down the street. I swear if there weren't other students around he probably would've taken a swing at me or something of the sort…

Geez, setting up Kenji with my "rival"… I think that's a big mistake, what if they click and decide to go steady? Wendy most likely wouldn't "allow" Kenji to hang out with me, and I still wanna be his friend, of course! I like him after all! …Yeah, in that way also, oi…

Oh man, I just got back from a phone call. It was Kenji, and he had called to tell me that Wendy wanted to go to dinner with him, and he wanted to know the most polite way to "blow her off". Hehe, I never thought that Kenji of all people would know or use such a term… Anyway, I should've been relieved that he had already come to a conclusion about dating Wendy but for some stupid reason, I started scolding him instead, saying that he barely even gave her half a chance. I can tell that Kenji was annoyed at my persistence, but he finally agreed, on one condition - that I'd be there somehow.

Well, I didn't wanna be the third wheel on their first "official" date… although secretly I'm glad that I can be there to keep an eye on them, so I offered to double with him and Wendy. I called and asked this guy, A.J. Haru to go with me on the double date a few minutes ago, and agreed pritty quickly. I guess it's gonna be the four of us then: Wendy & Kenji, A.J. & me. I hope this won't turn out to be a disaster, 'cause I don't have a very good feeling about how everything's gonna end up…

POV - Kenji

9:17AM

June 8th, 2015

I have only one thing to say right now: if dates in the future are going to turn out the way things did last night, then I am never going on another date again. Ever. Wendy is very provocative; I can say that with certainty, and how unfortunate it is for me… For goodness sake she practically sat in my lap when the four of us were in the theatre watching a movie! She kept saying how nice it was that the place was so dark and - get this - told me that her favorite part of a movie was necking with her date.

Needless to say, I did not want to hear that, and I didn't care how much Uriko was going to yell at me later, but I just flat out refused Wendy. I do not want to get that friendly on a first date. Sheesh, what is with people like Wendy anyway?? I don't get why someone would put out so much on the first date; don't they care about their image at all?

Another part of the date that I felt ticked off about: all right, I had gone to use the restroom after the movie, and Uriko's date, T.J.-something-or-other went to the restroom also. I guess the girls did so as well. The thing is though, as he and I were washing our hands at the sink, he suddenly turned toward me and said, "Can you please stop making googly eyes at Uriko? She's my date after all… make them at Wendy if you want to."

One of my eyebrows immediately shot up, and so did a sudden urge to punch him in his snotty, obnoxious face. Who was he to order me around like that and to make such accusations of me trying to nab his date anyway? Uriko is closet friend right now, so why aren't I "allowed" to look at her at times and maybe give her a smile? I think she likes it when I smile, and pleasing her feels rather nice.

Also, ever since my date with Jessica a couple of nights ago, some of the guys that sit near me in my Biology class have been bugging me to switch partners with them so that they could be with Uriko. That is utterly ridiculous, the project is more than half over, so what good would it do to switch partners so late into it? I said no of course, and then they started ragging on me about how I was "juggling multiple chicks" and that I should give them a chance. Bull. She's my partner, my friend, and I have come to respect her for who she is, not for her body and looks or whatnot.

Back to the date, I resisted the urge to sock T.J. or whatever his name is, and instead just scowled at him and left the bathroom. I could practically feel his eyes burning into the back of my neck when I met up with Uriko in the corridor and gave her a quick hug as a greeting. Wendy wasn't around to see that, what a shame. I could tell that I had surprised Uriko by doing that, but she didn't complain, slug me, or anything like that, so I took it as a good sign.

I think that T.J. probably would have started a fight right then and there if it weren't for Uriko's presence. Wendy joined us a couple of minutes later and we all went outside to go our separate ways home. T.J. offered to walk Uriko home, which kind of irritated me, but the irritation disappeared when she told him no thanks. Wendy asked me if I could walk her home, but I just made some lame excuse and she looked annoyed at my refusal, then left by herself. Oh well, no big loss there.

After shooting me a dirty look, T.J. turned his attention back to Uriko. Watching him put his arms around her and leaning down to kiss her made my eyes narrow for some reason. A feeling inside my stomach rumbled and my hands clenched into fists. All of that disappeared though when she gave him a weak smile and gently pushed him away, saying she didn't want to move that fast.

He shot me another death glare before turning around and leaving also. I just shrugged it off and began walking toward home myself. I had barely taken a few steps when I heard Uriko call out, "Hey, aren't you gonna walk me home Kenji?"

I stopped and turned around. "…Um, I'm not your date though…" What a dumb thing to say, I know.

She kind of wrinkled her nose. "I… don't really trust A.J." Oh, so it was A.J. Heh, my bad. "After all, if he'd try to kiss me out here in public, who knows what he'd try if the two of us were walking by ourselves…"

The strange feeling that had been in my stomach earlier returned. "If he ever touches you when you don't want him to, just give me the word and I'll go after him, Uriko. Him, or anyone else. Alright?"

She nodded and flashed me one of those winning smiles of hers that were pretty rare and that I've liked everytime she did so. With that said, we started walking home together, heading toward her house first, and I told her what a disaster this date had been for me. Uriko got a funny look when I said that… hmm, I wonder why…

Right before I dropped her off at her house, she mentioned a school dance that was taking place the following night. I raised an eyebrow when she mentioned that; I'm not exactly a dancing kind of person, especially since I think most events organized by the school are absolutely lame. The way she kept giving me these secret looks while we were talking about the dance made it rather obvious that she wanted me to go.

"I'll go," I interrupted her while she was in the middle of trying to convince me that school dances weren't tacky. "…But I don't want to take Jessica or Wendy," I continued. "Or that brunette who has been looking at me in the hallways at school lately."

Uriko ducked her head and murmured something that sounded like "Mary," then peered back up at me - I'm glad she isn't too shy to meet my eyes - and said, "So you want to go to the dance alone then?"

I frowned. "Well… I presumed that you were going also, aren't you?"

"O-oh," she stammered in a fairly un-Uriko-like way. "I-I guess so… do you want me to?"

"I don't want to be there by myself," I told her matter-of-factly. "I would be defenseless and at the mercy of Wendy and her groupies if you aren't there to beat them off for me."

She laughed; a sound that differed vastly from Jessica's quiet, shy chuckling and Wendy's crooked cackling. "Defenseless? Sure you are, mole-boy…" she teased, winking at me.

I sneaked a look at her and couldn't help smiling, then retorted back, "Oh, yeah? And what about you, cat-girl?"

Uriko punched my arm, but I could tell that she was only kidding around like we were just a few seconds ago. "Okay, I'll give you a point for that battle, Kenji, but don't expect me to be so easy next time!"

I gave her a half-smirk and replied, "Sure thing, Uriko. Whatever you say."

"So…" she spoke up just then. "You want me to go to the dance with you tomorrow, right? But you know what some of other people are gonna think…"

Of course I had inklings of what they would assume; I had heard comments from some of the guys in my Biology class. Still, I said, "Enlighten me."

"Um…" her cheeks turned a little pink then, which I actually thought looked kind of cute… "They'd think that we… you and me, that is… were a… you know, a couple…"

"Disgusted with the thought of being coupled with me?" I asked, only half-jokingly.

"Oh no, of course not!" My friend exclaimed. "I just didn't know if you would be okay with that is all…"

We were in front of her house at that point. Surprising myself and probably her as well, I hugged Uriko again, and then quickly jumped back afterwards. Looking at her, my eyes somehow wandered down to her mouth and I thought about how cute they seemed, a dainty shade of pink touching her delicate set of pursed lips. When I realized what I was doing though, I hastily shook myself out of the "trance" and glanced around to see if anyone was in the area.

"…Something wrong?" She asked, her hand mobile around the knob of her door.

"No, everything's fine," I told her.

She nodded and turned to go into her house while I prepared to teleport with the help of my Smoke Bomb technique, a move I had learned months ago that proved very useful even outside of battle. But for some reason, I called out to her before disappeared into her residence, "Hey, Uriko."

She paused and turned around to face me, her free hand raised near her chest in an interesting pose. "Yeah?"

"About other people thinking that we're together when we go to the dance tomorrow together…"

"Mmmhmm?" she regarded me curiously, tilting her head slightly to an angle that would probably have appeared weird on others, but on her, it looked charming.

I flashed her the most enticing smile that I could manage, and finished, "Well… would that really be so bad?"

Without waiting for an answer though, I waved two fingers before my nose and vanished into my Smoke Bomb tech.

POV - Uriko

11:07PM

June 9th, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

Oh my gosh, I can't believe what just happened - I just got my first kiss! Well, I'm not 100% sure that it counts as a real kiss because it was really short… but I think that it should count, especially since it came from Kenji!! No, I'm not kidding, the very same Kenji Ohgami who practically swore off dating since what happened last night with Wendy trying to get all over him and stuff. But maybe I shouldn't be surprised though, after he had implied that us being a couple wouldn't be such a bad idea… Let me explain what happened earlier.

OK, as I had guessed would happen, the other students thought that Kenji and I were an item when we went to the dance together. Well, we probably invoked that since I had linked arms with him while we were walking into the multipurpose room. I saw Wendy and she was giving me the dirtiest look I had ever seen on anyone's face. I didn't really want anyone to get the wrong idea though, and if I forced that "taken" label onto Kenji, I knew he wouldn't like it in the long run.

So I excused myself to the bathroom, with the excuse of going to freshen myself up. He said that I looked fine, but I insisted anyway. As I was sprinkling water into my hair just in case I would get hot later from dancing, I heard a couple of girls talking in the stalls behind me. Usually I hate hearing gossip at school, cause most of them are just stupid rumors, and I leave before I hear anything I'm not supposed to, but this conversation caught my ears when I heard mine and Kenji's names mentioned.

"Can you believe this," the girl wearing these black boots was saying just as I was starting to leave, "After rejecting all those other guys, Uriko finally picks up someone, but it's the Kenji Ohgami that most girls go after, of all people!"

"Oh, Uriko Nonomura? That chick with the brown hair that even Wendy's jealous of?" her friend asked.

I frowned when I heard that. Wendy was jealous of not just me, but my hair too? This was just getting way too comical…

"Yeah," the first girl continued. "Everyone knows that Wendy can't compare to Uriko; Wendy is such a stuck-up bitch after all! And I bet she knows that too, cause why else would she always be dissing Uriko and trying to steal her guy?"

"Her guy?" The other one repeated. "Oh, you mean Kenji, right? Well, he is pretty hot, you know! But really, really quiet. In our Geometry class, the only time he ever talks is when Mr. Wong asks him to work out and explain a math problem on the board. Even then, he tries to make his sentences short and get straight to the point A.S.A.P."

"Really?" Black Boots sounded kinda dubious. "Hey, I've seen Uriko ditch her friends at lunch sometimes to go eat with Kenji. Those two wander off somewhere and don't come back until the end of the lunch period, and they're always chattering a lot with each other when they do!"

I wanted to laugh then, but I also didn't wanna blow my cover so I clamped a hand over my own mouth and continued listening to the girls.

"So, those two are a couple then? For real? Man, Brad's gonna be hella pissed off when he finds that out; he's been trying to get with Uriko since like, November of last year! I heard that he asked her to the senior prom but she turned him down and went with another guy!"

How do people know all this? Sheesh, news do travel like wildfire at my school, I guess… Anyway, at that point, I heard a flush so I ran out of the bathroom, and bumped right into Kenji.

"Oof!" He said while I "bounced" back from him.

"Ack! Erm, sorry," I apologized, and felt my cheeks burn up in embarrassment.

"It's alright." His half-smile was boyishly cute and I blushed even more.

After that commotion, I took him around and introduced him to some of our female classmates and ended up watching a couple of them take him off to the dance floor. Some of my guy friends came up to me and I was asked to dance, so I went to go hang out with them. Kenji and I met up a couple of times throughout the three hours we were there, but then we'd both get dragged off in different directions about two seconds later.

It wasn't until toward the end of the dance that we really got the chance to be together for more than four milliseconds at a time. This guy from my P.E. class, Henry, was trying to get me to dance with him, but I didn't want to (he has the BIGGEST ego out of all the people I know in the class). He just wouldn't stop bugging me though, and I was really relieved when I looked across the room and thankfully caught Kenji's eye.

I guess he got my silent message because the next thing I knew, he was walking over here and I immediately said, "_O-Oh, um, I-I'm sorry but I already promised the next dance to my friend!" I turned to look at Kenji. "A-and he's here now!"_

Henry gave him a withering look, as if he was a worthless slug, then snorted; "You're dropping me to dance with Kenny?"

Kenji narrowed his eyes almost dangerously. "I believe she refused your request of dancing with you. Why don't you respect her decision."

Even though I knew he wouldn't see me doing so, I smiled at him in relief.

__

Mr. Ego scuffed and shot him a cool glare. "Pssh, whatever. Shove off." Shaking his head irritably, he walked off and soon disappeared into the huge crowd of dancing people.

I sighed and met Kenji's eyes, then said with a smile, "Whew… Thanks for the help."

He looked a little wry when he smiled back. _"Hm, what are friends for."_

After some more small talk - I found out that Kenji didn't like any of the girls that he danced with by the way, the DJ said that the dance was almost over and played one last slow song. Surprisingly, I didn't have to twist Kenji's arm and he still asked me. While we were dancing, we talked about my "love project" some more, and of course, I still persisted, hehe.

For some reason, things got a little intense - I guess it was the direction that our conversation was going - and toward the end of the song, he looked at me while he was finishing a sentence. Our eyes met, and I got this fluttery feeling in my stomach; I don't think we even fully realize what was going on, just both started leaning toward each other…

But at the last second, and I do mean the VERY LAST second because we were so close that I could feel his breath on my face, the lights in the room turned on. Kenji and I jumped away from each other probably by instinct and then he immediately headed for the exit. I followed him out, and had to run in order to catch up to him since his pace was so fast.

By the time we got back to my house though, he seemed to be more relaxed and we even kidded around a bit. As we were saying good-bye, I hugged Kenji (I was sure he'd have been used to that by then, hehe), and afterwards, I leaned foreword to kiss him on the cheek. And that's when it happened. A second before my mouth touched his cheek; he turned his face so that our lips brushed against each other! Stupid me though, when he did that, I jumped back in surprise, and ended up embarrassing him.

With his eyes avoiding me, Kenji murmured, "S-Sorry… U-um, I have to go…" Then he hoped onto his bike, which he had left there earlier when he came to walk me to the dance, and left.

I just stood there on the porch for a moment, and sometime beforehand, I had reached up one of my hands and touched my mouth with the tips of my fingers. I watched his silhouetted figure vanish into the shadows, and emotions just surged through me inwardly. Joy, sorrow, hurt, confusion… How can I face him in school on Monday? I'm not sure what I should do… If Kenji starts avoiding me in school though, I'll be right behind him, ready to drag him back by the ear if I have to…

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To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Here is yet another cliffhanger ending… Damn, what troubles I'm putting Uriko and Kenji through, huh? Looks like that project was more than both of them had counted on… This story occurs between my songfic, Bloody Roar II: When You Love, and Part 2 of my first BR fic, Bloody Roar II: A Hidden Bond. So, what's going to happen to our protagonists in the next installment? Hope you readers enjoyed this; please leave a feedback/review!


	3. The First Inklings

5/22/01

5/22/01

Disclaimer: the characters such as Kenji, Uriko, etc. all belong to Hudson Soft.

Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-III, and my readers, especially Xion, PokeDigi, LazzyQ, Alica, Deoku, VGuyver, Flyby, StarryPeach, Xavier, and Niteflite.

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Bloody Roar II: Passage Into The Previous Years Series

Next installment following Bloody Roar I: The Destruction Of Impeccability Series

Bloody Roar II: The First Inklings

By Tiger5913

POV - Kenji

7:32AM

June 10th, 2015

What in the world was I thinking last night?! Someone that is cheery, bright, and possessing a beautiful spirit liking me, a cold, battle-hardened merciless scoundrel. Her jumping away from my embrace felt as critical as if she had struck me across the face, and the rejection remains imprinted in my mind. It stung even more than the tearing of my skin from a blow in the heat of battle, but although I feel rueful about this situation, I also feel disgusted with myself. Why did I give into my feelings for Uriko like that? There are so many other guys in school that are more deserving of her than someone like I.

But… last night, I really couldn't help it. Damn, I hope Uriko didn't think that I was acting like the A.J. guy or anything such as initiating something so straight-foreword like a kiss. Then again, what does this mean…? Had the other dates that Uriko set up all been useless? Is she the girl that is going to change my opinion about love, in more ways than one?

She has a captivating essence; I can say that for sure. So perhaps the girl that she - and I as well, I suppose - were looking for has been right here all this time. I just wish that I could find some way to tell her… if I could only muster up enough courage from my cowardly self…

POV - Uriko

8:14PM

June 13th, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

Ack, I haven't been writing for the last several days! Sorry! I've been kinda hectic with finishing up my part of the phobia project. It's almost done, and thank goodness too, since it's due tomorrow! I feel kinda sad about that, cause it means that Kenji and I won't be in such close quarters anymore… Things've been awkward between us ever since the 'kiss' that night after the dance; I've tried to act normal for the last couple of days though, be myself and everything, but I'm not sure if Kenji fell for it or not.

Actually… to be honest, I'm not sure what he's been thinking these days. I mean, he's been more in-drawn than ever, even worse than in the beginning when we first started out! He keeps avoiding looking me in the eyes, and whenever I talk to A.J. in the hallways while Kenji and I are walking through together, he always gets his brief weird look at first. It's as if he's mad at A.J. or something… Then it disappears after about a second.

I talked to one of my friends, Victor, about this (I didn't tell him about the 'kiss' though), and told him how strange my partner had been acting toward me these past few days. Victor says that he thinks that Kenji was probably jealous of A.J., but didn't want to say or mention anything, "since this is Kenji Ohgami we're talking about here", using my friend's exact words.

Why would Kenji be jealous though? I've been hanging out with him a lot more than any of my other friends, girls and guys, these last couple of weeks! Well, I asked Victor about that too, and he told me that Kenji had been usually solo and a bit reclusive until I entered the picture, until I chipped away at his shield. And now that Kenji's gotten the feeling of not being alone, of having a companion, a friend, he likes it and wants to hold onto the situation.

Lonely… I should've seen that myself. (Ugh, I'm such an idiot…) You know what? I'm gonna go tell Kenji how I feel about him tomorrow, as soon as I see him in school! I know that I can just pick up the phone and let him know right now, but that really feels too impersonal and he might think I'm messing with his mind or feelings or something of the sort. So I gotta tell him face-to-face, I just hope that he won't shy away from even more or anything like that when he finds out about my feelings for him…

POV - Kenji

1:21AM

June 14th, 2015

I can't sleep. I've been lying in my bed, awake, and staring at shadows dancing on the ceiling for the past couple of hours or so. Funny, ever since Alice moved in with Yugo and I, my brother has been acting rather particularly affectionate toward her, and even when she isn't around at times, he is smiling for no particular reason. Those two always go downstairs for breakfast together in the morning, despite the fact that they sleep in different rooms at night.

Lately, while all of us are eating breakfast (Alice cooks, thank goodness), I listen to him and Alice making these cute little witty comments to each other, and I get a forlorn sense. I watch them kiss after their "daily morning routine", and a feeling of envy comes over me. And then… sometimes, when the envy goes away as I leave for school, Uriko's face flashes in my mind momentarily.

I can't say anything for sure, but I think it means that I want what my brother and Alice has right now. A relationship, being around someone that I care for, to have such feelings that would bring a smile to my lips at random, to not be embarrassed when I portray a playful and teasing attitude… Yeah, I do want that… I had been feeling the angry roots of jealousy clawing at my stomach these past few days when I saw A.J. and some other jerks flirt with Uriko. Those events occur when the two of us were strolling through the hallways, or were trying to get away to somewhere secret at noon to eat lunch by ourselves.

Sometimes, just for the briefest millisecond, I wish that I could be like those jerks, only because then I'd have the courage to so blatantly tease and flirt with Uriko without feeling self-conscious. Still, I think it'd be better if I just had enough courage to tell her how I feel about her, instead of wishing for such stupid important things like the aforementioned.

It's almost two o'clock now. But I still can't sleep. I think I'll go out and take a walk; I'm jumping out of my window instead of going downstairs, just in case I wake up Yugo or Alice somehow. Hm and I think I'll don one of my favorite ninja gi outfits if anyone decides to mess with me (who knows how long my walk will be). For some reason, I'm getting a bad feeling about leaving the house at this time, but I'm far too restless to stay inside. Hah, what do you know, it seems like I have picked up a trace of my devoted 'teacher's' (by that I mean Uriko, of course) determination…

POV - Uriko

12:36AM

June 16th, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

Man I feel tired, but I can't wait till later in the morning to write this, so I'm gonna do it now. SO MUCH has happened today yesterday (oops, forgot it was past 12 o'clock, hehe)! OK, for starters, guess who's sleeping in the guestroom right next door to me? I can still barely believe it myself… but it's Kenji! I saw him about half an hour ago, and I think that he'll recover soon (it's a good thing we're both fast at healing injuries…).

Why is he sleeping over at my house? I'll explain. Yesterday, Kenji wasn't at school, and that was surprising to me because he has (or I guess it's had now…) perfect attendance. Also, we were supposed to turn in our phobia projects in Biology class, and I didn't think that he'd miss turning in something so important…

I'm a little ashamed of saying this part, but I kinda forgot about Kenji's absence after school let out… But I have a good excuse though! (I think…) It started raining while I was walking home, and I just couldn't resist playing around because I love the rain! None of my zoanthrope allies know this (not even Mother), and I bet that if they did, they'd think it was weird since I'm a cat. Well, just because a cat's my beast form doesn't mean that I have to hate water or have every single of a cat's personality traits, right? (I do like how my eyes glow when it's dark though, hehe… I have to keep that a secret from my normal human friends though, for obvious reasons…)

But by dumb luck I guess, I decided to take a shortcut through this alleyway to get home more quickly, since it was dark by the time it had stopped raining. While I was walking through, I suddenly realized that it was the very same place I first met Kenji a couple months back when I was searching for Mother. I felt a little creeped out by the memory though, especially when my body tensed up for some reason and my ears picked up on how quiet the area was… quiet as the breeze of death…

It must've been some kinda creepy prophecy because just then, I heard someone say in a low, chilling tone of voice, "Enjoying yourself?"

And the speaker turned out to be Kenji… He was crouched on a ledge in the alley, and jumped down in front of me, then started walking foreword (I still didn't know who it was yet). I took a step back, but the worry left me with a sigh after I saw and recognized that the person was Kenji - I had help identifying him thanks to this street lamp nearby.

When I saw him at first, of course I felt relieved cause I figured I knew him and no reason to be scared and such. But I started getting a creeped out feeling when I noticed that he wasn't doing anything except stare at me. It wasn't a good stare that's why… Kenji was looking at me like he was a predator, and I was his prey or something of the sort…

"Um, something wrong…?" I asked him finally, breaking the silence.

He didn't say anything; just walked out from the shadows and I could see him fully then. I remembered him wearing that outfit the night we fought a couple of months ago, the yellow skintight ninja gi. Even though he had this evil expression on his face, I still thought that he looked really cute… I think no matter what, I'll never think anything bad of Kenji. I like him too much to do that.

"K-Kenji…?" I stuttered then (I confess: I was scared).

"Don't call me that…" was his murmured reply.

"What…?" Naturally, I was confused by his attitude.

Kenji didn't answer me verbally after that, and instead, he pulled that something and I caught this silver glint flashing from it. It turned out to be a dagger.

I was sure I sounded panicked when I asked probably stupidly, "What are you going to do with that?!" 

He ignored my question, which didn't really surprise me; "Come with me."

"Where? What for?" A feeling of dread sunk in my stomach.

Still, I hadn't been prepared to hear: "Busuzima wants you."

"W-what?? No way, I'm not going anywhere near him!" By then I had a darn good guess what had happened to him, but I asked anyway, "Kenji…what happened to you?"

"Come with me, or else," I could see his knuckles start to turn a little white, so I guess he was holding the dagger really tightly…

I replied defiantly, "Over my dead body!"

That wasn't a smart thing to say because it just fueled him. Smiling really wickedly, he said, "That can be arranged…"

"…And what do you mean by that…" 

"If you won't go, then I'll have to kill you." Even right now, I still can't believe that he could say that so calmly, without flinching the slightest bit…

"You shouldn't play with sharp objects," I told him in a smart-aleck tone of voice, then quickly kicked the knife away from his hand with my foot.

That was the last of our conversation; after that, we fought, and I ended up knocking him unconscious after I used my Rage Move on him. I felt terrible about doing that, and… and I still do, actually… I kinda half-dragged, half-carried Kenji back to my house so that he could rest, sleep and hopefully restore back to himself. He should be all right… but if he got any serious severe injuries from me, I'll be so mad at myself for doing that to him…

POV - Kenji

9:31AM

June 16th, 2015

I'm back home now. And one of the things I am remembering most vividly from last night is that, although I don't have much experience at all, I know that Riko is a great kisser.

POV - Uriko

9:31AM

June 16th, 2015

Dear Diary/Journal,

Oh yeah, I can't believe that I forgot to add something when I was writing earlier! The guys before him were totally blanked out from my mind last night because Kenji's a great kisser.

POV - Kenji

6:42PM

June 17th, 2015

All right, I think that I should probably explain my last entry. My English teacher checked our journals last Wednesday, and gave them back to the class the following day. She wrote comments in my journal about how she was glad to see I was being so honest and also that she thought Uriko's "love project" was a fairly clever, and subtle way of saying that she liked me. Okay, I'm pretty sure now that Uriko has feelings for me the same that I have for her, but all the way from a couple of weeks ago? I highly doubt it. I was such a jerk then, after all. Final note, I received full credit from my teacher for the journal assignment (an A+, in other words).

Back to the aforementioned topic, it brings anger to myself when I confess: I fought Uriko again. What does that make, the third time now? One of these days, I'll get what is coming to me, I swear it. But instead of struggling, I'll embrace it, because that's what I deserve. Some things are still a little fuzzy to me regarding the battle, but I am acknowledged of the fact that I must have been brainwashed again, damn it. I hate Busuzima. How I long to execute my most gruesome and painful techniques on him, but that would only be a small punishment compared to the suffering that he has caused to others and I.

Being her though, Uriko didn't voluntarily tell me what I did to her, and then when I remembered bits and pieces of the incident, she immediately started defending me. I don't understand, why would she be so kind to me when I've been nothing but an aggravating nuisance to her? Her heart is holy and pure, inhibited by an aurora of forgiveness that reflects out from her eyes, and portrayed by her behavior…

What male pride I have stored within me probably lessens when I admit that I shed tears last night. Yes, I cried. I cannot remember the last time that I've done so, none of the years I have resided with Yugo, at least that much I know… Well, I'm not really ashamed to confess of the first time that I cried for God-knows-how-long, because it was for someone. Some of those tears that were spilled contained guilt and frustration at myself, how weak-minded and pathetic I am…

But the rest… the rest of the tears were shed for Uriko. I think that if I were in her position, I would probably disown me as a friend, or started avoiding me at least. But not her, she would never do that. She is too kind. We had an intriguing talk that night, I degrading myself, her defending me… However, after that topic of discussion leisurely died down, Uriko was silent for a few minutes, as if she was in some kind of trance, or deep in thought.

When that short period passed by, the first thing she said was, "Kenji, do you remember anything about your childhood?"

I didn't answer.

"Remember what happened between us when we were about eight or nine years old?" She continued.

"…" was my reply.

"…Never mind." Her voice was barely audible.

But at that moment, this pain struck my head, and I groaned while grabbing a hold of her arm, my head with the other.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?!" Uriko sounded worried.

I said the first thing that came into my mind, even though I felt albeit confused; "… … …Riko?"

"You remember, don't you!"

I wasn't one hundred percent sure what she was talking about, but I soon found my answer when these disoriented images flashed through my mind. I saw two kids, fighting effortlessly and conversing. They looked rather disheveled, and I felt a wave of pity hit me at the sight of them. But… something told me that I knew them. And when the realization sunk in, I was shocked.

Although I couldn't exactly zoom in and see the kids' faces, I somehow knew that one of them was me. I could hear their conversation, something about a promise, and I thought that was cute. I heard my name mentioned from the girl, and I almost reeled back in surprise. That's when I found out Uriko was the one who first gave me my Kenji alias.

Yes, the two children were Uriko and I. We must have been young, around eight or nine years old… I felt a jolt of shock surge through my body as the fuzzy images began to fade. My name, Kenji, what I have been going by for the last five years, was originally given to me by Uriko back when we were little kids?? She is a very important person in my life, a hell of a lot more than I had been consciously aware of… I wonder how did Yugo know to name me Kenji, though? I need to go ask him about that. It would be far too strange of a coincidence if he just thought of that name to give me completely out of the blue.

"…Crying…protesting…fighting… Not my name…" I murmured, feeling sluggish as if I were being held down by molasses.

"Yeah, yeah…go on…" She laid my head on her lap and rubbed my back; I adored the comfort from her, it felt soothing and relaxed me.

Uriko… was my… "Best friend?"

"Mmmhmm…" she answered.

"…Promise…" I finished finally, sounding a bit ragged.

"We both remember," she said. "That's great!" 

"My head hurts," was my reply.

Uriko sighed, but I don't think that it wasn't out of exasperation. "Ken-ji…mine does too, but I'm not complaining. Well, now I am, but you know what I mean!"

I smirked. "Ye-es, barely…but I do remember…Riko…" That nickname… the younger me had called her that…

We talked about how she had escaped from Tylon after that, and it ended pretty quickly because she blamed herself for not escaping with me when we were children. I found out several things about my childhood that night. And I have Uriko to thank for it. Another regarding our shared past, I called her Riko. …You know, that sounds cute on her, in my opinion.

After we sorted out what could of our hidden bond, it was late, and she was going to leave so that we could both get some sleep. Uriko told me that Yugo was coming to pick me up in the morning before she turned away to head out of the room.

All right, even right now I'm still not sure where I had found the courage to render what I did next. I suppose whatever of it that was stored inside me somewhere took that moment to come out and stop Uriko from leaving. I placed my hand on her arm and led her back to me; she seemed rather surprised when I… leaned foreword and kissed her. I think that all of the tension and longing that I had for her trapped inside me were elated to escape, be released to grasp freedom.

Personally… I didn't mind the kiss at all. My former self probably would have, though, but I'm different now. But strangely, when Riko and I were kissing, the experience didn't feel foreign at all… in fact, it felt somewhat familiar… Is that another hidden concept, yet something else that I don't know about myself? Well, I've changed rather drastically in just the past couple of weeks, and I feel glad instead of annoyed or self-conscious. I didn't think that I'd ever say anything like this, but: that class project was personally and pleasingly beneficial.

So… do Riko and I now have what my brother and Alice have? The thought of me being Uriko's…boyfriend…is very intriguing and fills me with a sense of rapture, but I also feel a bit nervous and somewhat scared as well. Nevertheless, whenever I see her face in my mind, I become relaxed and comforted; my problems and worries just drift away, dissolving as they take their leave…

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The End

Author's Note: OK, you all can wake up now! ^_~ Well, should I continue with the journals and move into the story line of my fic, Bloody Roar II: Unwanted Betrayal? Hell I just hope that I'm not screwing up too badly on the characterization and portrayal of our dear protagonist, heh… Please leave a review and keep an eye out for my next stories!

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With love for my fans,

Tiger5913


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